Rate-controller.



H. REISERT.

RATE CONTROLLER.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 27, 1914.

1 1 75,379. Patented Mar. 14,1916.

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H. REISERT.

RATE CONTROLLER.

APPLICATION men AUG-27, 1914.

Patented Mar. 14,1916.

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q/vbfmwoes ag al mvwmz @z'iw H. REISERT.

RATE CONTROLLER.

v APPLICATION FILED AUG.27,1914. 1, 175,3?9. Patented M211. 14, 1916.

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HANS REISERT, OF COLOGNE, GERMANY, ASSEGNOR TO REISERT AUTOMATIC WATERPURIFYING COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

RATE-CONTROLLER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented ll lar. ME, 1916.

Application filed August 27, 1914. Serial No. 858,940.

ject of the Empire of Germany, and residmg in Cologne, Germany, haveinventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Rate- Controllers, ofwhich the following is a specification.

In the prior application filed in the name of HansReisertFebruaryfi,1912, Serial No. 675,501, there is disclosed a device for renderinguniform the flow of liquid from various sources, comprising a hollowopen float connected with a variably opening valve and havingcommunication on the one hand with the down-stream portion of thepassage to be controlled and on the other hand by weep-cpen'ngs with theinterior of'its float chamber, the latter in turn having communicationwith the upstream portion of the passage. I

The present invention relates, more particularly, to filters providedwith such rate controllers, and the object is to provide means wherebythe flow through the rate controller is throttled, or even stopped ,en-'tirely, when the level of water over the filter bed has fallen to apredetermined point. This is accomplished by suitable means for causingthe water in the float chamber to escape at such time, so that theyconsequent descent of the float causes the valve to close orsubstantially close the opening or openings in the passage. At suchtimes, an open by-pass around the valve permits the maintenance of amin'mum flow, so that the effluent from the rate controller is notentirely out off.

The invention also comprises certain features of novelty in respect tothe rate controller itself.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating the invention byv means of itspreferred embodiment: Figure 1 is a vertical section through a portionof thefilter, showing the rate controller and fioat'operated mechanismfor throttling the same in elevation; Fig. 2 is an enlarged elevation ofthe rate controller and the ducts and valve, mechanism forming the morespecific features of novelty, certain portions being sectioned andothers brokenaway; Fig. 3 is a detail vertical section showing theauxiliary, float-controlled valve in a difierent position; and

the valve chamber 10.

Fig. 4 is a vertical section through the rate,

controller in aplane at right angles to Fig. 2.

The rate controller comprises a casing or valve chamber 10, affording apassage" of which 11 is the upstream portion and 12 the down-streamportion. Walls 15 separate these two portions of the passage and areprovided with vertically alined openings, with which a double coneorcup-shaped valve 13 cooperates. The said valve is carried by a hollowvalve stem 14, which depends from a hollow open float 19 within a floatchamber 18 having an air vent 180 mounted upon The hollow valve stemserves to place the interior of the float in ccmmunicat'on with thedownstream portion of the valve chamber. To this end it is providedbetween the valve members 7 with a suitable number of appropriatelyproportioned openings 22. and at its upper end, which may projectslightly above the bottom of the float as shown, it is provided withother openings 30. A cap 31, screwed onto the upper end of the stem andlocked in pcs1t1on by a screw 32, serves, in conjunction with rigid andcompressible washers beneath the float,to hold the stem and floattogether, and may also be utilized to define the area of the openings30. The stem l t and the wall 39, the sleeve being held tightly 111place by a threaded ring 40.

Small openings 4-2 are preferably provided in the wall of the valve stemin communication with the space inclosed by the flexible diaphragm 37,so as to cooperate with the restricted passage formed between theexterior of the stem and the'opening" ll, on the one hand, and theinterior of the valve 513611); "and the openings 22, on the other hand,to afford a continuously open passageway between the up-stream anddown-stream portions of the passage around the valve, in order to permitfrictionless movement of the valve stem 14 and to per- 38, 34 and 35 anda shoulder 36 on the stem i ing a passageway having its inlet end toclose thepassage 43, the passage float chamber 18, from which latter thefloat is adapted to receive liquid through small wee ,-o aenin s 20 in.the u o oer oortion of its l e circumferential wall. In the particularconstruction illustrated, external pipes and flttings 42 are providedaffording a passagewayhaving its inlet end at one side of the space 1and its discharge end opening into the upper part of the float chamber.In addition, means'are provided for draining the float chamber,preferably into the downstream portion of the passage. For this purpose,pipes andfittings 43 are shown, aflord through the side of the floatchamber near the bottom and its discharge end opening into thedownstream space 12, A hand valve 44 may be introduced in'the piping 42for the purpose of cutting off communication between the upstream partof the passage and the float chamber when desired.

Means are provided for opening the passage42 and closing the passage 43,or vice versa, accordlng as it is desired to have water enter the floatchamber from the upstreamportion'of the passage or to drain the floatchamber into the down-stream portion thereof. The particular embodimentof such means maybe widely varied, but in the preferred constructionillustrated it comprises a double-ended slide valve 45 operating in afitting 46 common to both the passages 42 and 43, the construction beingsuch that, in the position shown in Fig. 2, the

lower valve face rests upon a seat 47 so as 42 being open, while in theraised position illustrated in Fig. 3 the. upper valve portion bearsagainst the valve seat 48, thereby closing the passage 42 and openingpassage 43.

The valve 45 is under the automatic con trol of means responsive to awater level at or 1H communication with the source from which the valvepassage 11, 12 is supplied.

More particularly the valve 45 is designed to be controlled by a flcat49 riding on the body of raw water 5O over the filter. bed 51" of afilter such as is indicated generally at" 52, the purified waterreservoir 53 of which supplies the passage ll, 12 through the outlet 54.The specific construction of the filter is not essential to theinvention, and is, therefore, not illustrated more particularly. Agravel bed carries'the sand layer. Pipes 51* permit the water to flowfrom thefilter to the pure water reservoir and reversely when washingout. As shown, the connections between the float 49 and the valve 45include a two-armed rocking lever 55, to

one end of which the float link 56 is connecthead at the source fromdecreasing the amount of water inside ed and. to the other end a link57, which is in turn connected with the rod 58, the lower portion ofwhich passes through the upper appropriate character, descent of thefloat 49 to'a predetermined point lifts the valve 45 from the positionofFig. 2 to that of Fig. 3, thus closing the passage-42 and permittingthe water in the float chamber 18 to escape through the passage 43.Conversely, 118601 the float 49 again closes the passage 43 and opensthe passage 42. The descent at the upper of the float 49 does not raisethe valve 45,

so as to reverse the condition shown in Fig. 2, until the predeterminedminimum level has been reached, at which time the slot 56 engages the.pin on the lever 55 so that further rocking movement of the lever .55lifts the valve. i

The general operation of the apparatus will now be briefly described.Assuming the parts tov be in the positionsshown in Figs. 1 and 2, andthe water to be admitted to the up-stream side'of the passage 11, 12 bythe opening of amain'valve (not shown), water from the space 11 willpass through the pipmg 42 into the float chamber 18, where, a

sufficient amount of it having collected, it i will cause the float 19torise,thereby opening the valve 13 and permitting the water to enterthe down-stream portion of the passage. Back pressure existing in thedownstream portion of the an adjusting valve or similar device 190 suchas a plate with a fixedand smaller opening, determines the maximumoutflow and causes'the waterto low valve stem into the interior of thefloat. Water may also be admitted to the float from the interior of thefloat chamber through the weep-openings -The float is thus weighted witha variable quantity of water, the flow of which is to be controlled,corresponding to'variations in pressure in the down-stream portion ofthe passage, these in turn result ng from variationslin which thepassage is supplied or from progressive cloggingof the filter, etc. atthe down-stream side, due to diminished pressure at the tip-stream side,results in the float 19, thereby permitting the latter to rise so as toincrease the openings around the valve 13 to such an extent as tocompensate for the reduced head. An increased pressure in the space 12has the reverse results.

Thus, the effluent from the valve passage is tive of variations passageproduced by rise through the hol ,Thus a decrease in pressure the valvepassage may thus be stopped altogether, but preferably only throttled toa restricted flow permitted by the bypass 41, 42, 14-, 22'. When thewater level at the source rises again above the predetermined minimum,the valve 45 is returned to the position shown in Fig. 2 and normalconditions in the rate controller are restored.

While the preferred features of construe tion and operation of theapparatus and its preferred field of use have been described withparticularity, it will be understood that numerous changes,substitutions and omissions may be made, without departing from theinvention.

That I claim as new is:

1. The combination with a filter, and a rate controller connected withthe outlet thereof, said rate controller comprising a passage having avariably opening valve, a float chamber'having communication with anup-stream portion of said passage, and ahollow open float in saidchamber having openings for admission of liquid therefrom and means ofcommunication with a down stream portion of the passage, said floatbeing connected with the valve, of means for causing escape of waterfrom said float chamber when the water over the filter bed falls to apredetermined level.

2. The combination with a fllter, and a rate controller connected withthe outlet thereof, said rate controller comprising a passage having avariably opening valve, a float chamber having communication with anup-stream portion of said passage, and a hollow open float in saidchamber having openings for admission of liquid therefrom and means ofcommunication with a downstream portion of the passage, said float beingconnected with the valve, of means for shutting ofl communicationbetween said float chamber and the rip-stream portion of the passage andfor opening communication be tween the same and thedown-stream portion,and a float responsive to the raw water level in the filter and havingconnections for operating said means when said level has fallen to apredetermined point.

3. The combination with a filter, a passage for conducting the clearwater therefrom, a variably opening valve in said passage, a floatchamber, and a hollow open float in said chamber connected with saidvalve and having communication with the passage at the down-stream sideof the valve, of means responsive to the level of raw water in thefilter for allowing water to escape from said float chamber when the rawwater level has fallen to a predetermined point. i

l. Means for controlling the flow of liquid comprising a passage,'avariably opening valve therein, a float chamber having communicationwith the passage at the upstream side of the valve, and a hollow floattherein connected with the valve and having communication with thepassage at the down-stream side thereof, in combination with a suitablesource of supply for said passage, and means controlled by a water levelat said source for shutting off admission of water to said float chamberfrom the up-stream portion of the passage and draining the water in thechamber into the downstream portion thereof.

5, The combination with a passage, a valve therein, a float chamberhaving communication with said passage at the upstream side of thevalve, a hollow open float in said chamber having inletsto admit waterfrom the chamber and communication with the down-stream portion of thepassage, and aconnection between the float and valve, of

a source of supply for said passage, and

means controlled by a water level at the source for automaticallyshutting off admlssion of water to the float chamber and permitting thewater therein to escape.

6. Means for controlling the flow of a liquid, comprising a passage, avariably opening valve therein, a float chamber, and a hollow open floattherein having communication with the passage at the down-stream side ofthe valve and weep-openings for ad-v mitting water from the chamber, ofpassageways for connecting said float chamber with the lip-stream anddown-stream portions of said passage respectively, a valve for openingeither of said passageways and closing the other, and external floatmechanism for controlling said valve.

7. Means for controlling the flow of a liquid, comprising a passage, avariably opening valve therein, a float chamber, a float in said chamberconnected with said valve, a passageway for admitting water to saidchamber from the up-stream portion of the passage, an outlet passagewayfrom said chamber, and an automatic valve mechanism for opening eitherof said passageways and closing the other.

8. Means for controlling the flow of a liquid, comprising a passage, avariably opening valve therein, a float chamber over said passage andvalve, a duct connecting said chamber with the rip-stream portion of thepassage, a hollow open float in the float chamber having a hollowdepending stem passing through an opening in the bottom of the floatchamber into said passage and connecting the float with the valve andplacing its interior in communication with the downstream portion of thepassage, and a flexible "leakageito or from said float chamber.

9. Means 'for controlling the flow of a liquid, comprising apassagehaving a variably opening valve therein, a float chamber havingcommunication with an up-stream .rortion of the Jassa e and a hollowopen float in saidchamber connected with said valve and havingcommunication between its interior and a down-stream portion of thepassage, in combination with means for permitting escape of water fromsaid float chamberso as to cause the float to move the valve in theclosing direction, and means for 'maintaining a restrictedflow throughthe passage around the valve when the latter is closed. l i

10. Means for controlling the flow of a liquid, comprising a passagehaving a variably opening valve therein, a float chamber havingcommunication with an tip-stream portion of the passage, a hollow openfloat in said chamber having a hollow depending stem connected to saidvalve andaflording communication between theinterior of the float and adownstream portion of the passage, and-means aflording restrictedcommunicationbetWeen the upstream portion of the passageand theinteriorof said stem and thence to the down-stream portion of the passage.

l1.Means for controlling the flow ot'a liquid, comprising a passagehaving a variably opening valve thcrein, a float chamber, a hollow openfloat in said chamber having a hollow depending stein connected to saidvalve and affording communication between the interior of the float anda down-stream or'tion of the passa e-means affordin an opening looselyreceiving said stem and communicating with the upstream portion of thepassage, said stein having an inlet arranged to permit water passingthrough said opening to enter the stem, thence to reach the down-streamportion of the passage, and means cutting off the by-pass through-saidopening and inlet from the general interior of the float chamber.

12; Means for controlling the flow of a liquid, comprising a passagehaving a variably opening valve therein, a float chamber,

a hollow'open float in said chamber having a hollow depending stemconnected to said Copies of this patent may be obtained for five centseach, by addressing the "Commissionerof Patents,

valve and affording communication between i the interior of the floatand a down-stream portion of the passage, the bottom of the floatchamber having an opening through fwhich said'stem passes loosely, and aflexible diaphragm cutting ofl' communication between said opening andthe general interior of the float chamber, said opening being incommunication with the up-stream portion of the passage and the saidstem having an inlet to admit water trom'the opening.

13. Means for controlling the flow of liquid'delivered from a sourcecomprising a passage having a variably opening valve therein, a floatchamber having communication with an tip-stream portion of the pas-, vsage, and a hollow open float in said chamber connected with said valveand having communication with .a. down-stream portion of the passage, incombination with means responsive to a change inwater level in theregionof the source, an auxiliary valve operable by said means to permitescape of water from the float chamber so as to lower the float andthereby move the main valve in the closing direction, and means formaintaining a minimum flow around the main valve from the up-stream tothe down-stream i portion of the passage at such time.- 1%. Means, forcontrolling i the flow of liquid delivered from a source'comprisingapassage having a variably opening valve therein, float chamber havingcommunica- 'tion'with an up-stream portion of the passage, and a hollowopen float in said chamber connected with saidvalve and having a hollowstem affording communication between the interior of the float and thedownstream port on of the passage, in combination with means responsiveto a change in .water level in the region of the source, an

auxiliary valve operable by said means to permit escape of water fromthe float chamber so as to lower the float and therebymove the mainvalve in the closing direction, and means affording a restrictedpassageway from the tip-stream portion of the passage into the interiorof said stem and thence to i the down-stream portion of the passage.

In testimony whereof, I have signedimy two subscribing witnesses.

- i HANS REISERT.

Witnesses:

Louis VANDQRY, HEINRICH F ASSBENDERV.

Washington, D. C.

name'tothis specification, in thepresence of r

